The goal of the Minnesota Alliance With Youth’s Promise Fellow program is to prevent school dropout through targeted support of middle and high school students in Minnesota. AmeriCorps members work with students at risk of school disengagement and provide supports to improve student attendance, engagement, and work completion.
To better understand the impact of the program in relation to costs, AmeriCorps commissioned a return on investment (ROI) analysis by ICF, an independent research firm. ROI analyses of national service programs estimate the monetary value of benefits that a program generates per dollar invested.
Key Findings
- The ROI analysis estimated the Promise Fellow program’s ROI to be between $0.11 and $3.60 per funder dollar, depending on how long student participants and AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings as a result of the program.
- The return on each dollar of federal spending for the program is between $0.18 and $6.06. These results are driven by favorable employment and education outcomes for AmeriCorps members following their service and by student participant education outcomes once they enter the workforce.
Return on Investment (ROI) Studies
AmeriCorps and its grantees have invested significant resources in evaluating different agency programs and supported program models designed to improve a range of outcomes for national service members and volunteers, children, families, organizations, and communities across America. AmeriCorps has commissioned ICF International to conduct ROI analyses to help measure the program performance and build the base of evidence for future resource allocation decisions. In addition, each ROI study helps AmeriCorps communicate the value of its programs to relevant stakeholders. The ROI Studies Project will produce 26 ROI assessments.
Full report
Further information
AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation Commissioned Study